more fish? i'm new at this

[sk8rreefgeek]

I have my fish listed below. The Tang is only about 2", my black/white clown is a good 2 1/2". My girlfriend wants to buy a copperband butterfly (about 3"). I wanted a Racoon Butterfly. any chance of problems with either of these? I've heard racoons are hard to keep alive.
Thanks for all the helpful feedback!

[Sk8r]

Nix to the butterflies. They'll die. They eat corals for a living. I hate to say it, but your blue tang, with a max size of 18", is not appropriate for a 55. No tang really is: too high an oxygen and space requirement. The tomini tang would be close to possible, but for the health of that fish and your tank, I'd really advise against it: just not enough room. I'd advise holding pat at your YWG, lawnmower, firefish and clowns---maybe a couple of the smallest gobies or blennies who never exceed 2 skinny inches, maybe a small jawfish, maybe a pistol shrimp [tiger variety] for your YWG [take a look at liveaquaria.com]---but watch that shrimp. The coral bandeds are known to take after live fish, particularly as they get larger.

[TWallace]

Originally posted by Sk8r
but your blue tang, with a max size of 18", is not appropriate for a 55.

Has anyone seen one nearly that big? I don't think I've ever seen one more than maybe 9".

[sk8rreefgeek]

dang. I'm planning on getting a bigger complete setup, but not till at least Feb '08. I had a beautiful blue tang that got to 4" (girlfreind named it "Dory" of course) I had a crazy Halloween party. The tang and my clown got ich, but fully recovered in a few days. then about 2 weeks later, my Tang died overnight with no warning signs. My girl was heartbroken, so I bought the 2 incher and she's been doing fine.
Thanks for the feedback tho, I appreciate it. and i'll keep the fishcount the same untill I get a bigger tank going...

[Potsy]

Originally posted by TWallace
Has anyone seen one nearly that big? I don't think I've ever seen one more than maybe 9".

I've not seen one purchased as a juvenile get that big, but I've seen them grow about a foot in length. Considering that's 1/4 the tank length and that they're very powerful swimmers, it wouldn't be appropriate for long term care in my opinion.

They'll die. They eat corals for a living.

I agree that the copperband is notoriously finicky, but the racoon and its close relatives are actually pretty hardy fish that'll eat just about anything. I kept one about 25 years ago and it ate like a starved pig - even loved flake food. Still a bit too much fish for a 55 when paired with the tang. If you ever exchange the tang and your girlfriend still wants a copperband, a nice compromise would be the yellow longnose butterfly (Forcipiger flavissimus). It's a voracious eater and quite hardy. There are quite a few butterflies that are impossible to keep, but just as many that are gluttonous, hardy pigs in the aquarium.